Tag: Thomas Papeo

by Mike Pavlichko

McSorley, Villani, Thomas Papeo talk Team of the Year honors for CJ4 champion Knights, who were several years in the making

So many Old Bridge Knights – whether they played a large or small role – contributed to the team’s success in 2023, bringing them their first sectional title since in eight years.

Hascup, McSorley, the Papeos, Villani, Scire, Meyer, and the list goes on.

That’s how it is with a championship team. It’s never one person; it’s the collective.

And that’s how it was with Old Bridge baseball this year, which finished 21-9 on the season, won the Central Jersey Group 4 title, and made it all the way to the statewide Group 4 final before falling to Ridgewood, the North 1, Group 4 champ.

All told, it’s a season that will go down in Old Bridge baseball lore.

We caught up with three of the many key parts to Knights’ baseball in 2023; click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with Kyle McSorley, Mike Villani and Thomas Papeo – along with their head coach Matt Donaghue – about being named Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Team of the Year:

All seniors, Mike Villani will be playing his collegiate ball at Stony Brook, Thomas Papeo will move on to Kean, while Kyle McSorley will be playing at Iona.

by Mike Pavlichko

Papeo, Meyer shut down East Brunswick, as McSorley’s blast and Old Bridge bats send Knights to CJ4 final

Frank Papeo threw five scoreless innings, then Justin Meyer came in from right field to handle the last two innings, as top-seed Old Bridge blanked fifth-seed East Brunswick Tuesday, 8-0, in the Central Jersey Group 4 semifinals, sending the Knights to a title game for the first time since 2019.

Old Bridge (19-8) will host second-seed North Brunswick (21-6) for the CJ4 title Friday at 4 pm at Fred Cole Field. The Knights won both meetings with the Raiders this season.

Old Bridge chipped away early at East Brunswick starter Dustin McGuinness.

The first run came in the second. Justin Hascup hit a one-out double, then Evan Smith hit a grounder to the left side of the infield that Jack Gerould cut off. He got Smith at first, but when Hascup treid to go to third, first baseman Jack Ryan fired across the diamond high. The ball went up the line, and Hascup beat a high throw to the plate from left fielder John Oranchak to make it 1-0.

In the third, John Smith led off with a walk, and after a sac bunt put him in scoring position, and a fly out to center, Mike Villani tripled to drive in Smith, then scored himself on a single by Old Bridge starting pitcher Frank Papeo.

Though Old Bridge wouldn’t score again until the top of the sixth, the turning point may have come in the top of the fourth. With one out and two-on, McGuiness was called out looking on strikes, but was tossed from the game for arguing with the home plate umpire. When head coach Chris Kenney came out to argue, he was likewise ejected.

That left Joe Ditzel – who pitched very well in a quarterfinal win over Manalapan last week – to relieve McGuinness. After a 1-2-3 fourth, he gave up a walk and single to start the fifth, but got out of it without any damage being done.

The damage would come in the sixth inning.

Shawn Bogda singled, and after a pop up bunt was caught, Adam Scire walked, and Bogda advanced to third on a wild pitch thrown to pinch-hitter Akhil Penkala. But on a pickoff attempt at first, Bogda got caught trying to score, and Scire moved to second. Penkala walked, and so did John Smith to load the bases.

Thomas Papeo drove in two of those runs with a single to make it 5-0, and then came the bomb: a three-run blast to right center field by Kyle McSorely to make it 8-0.

Click below for postgame reaction from Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Justin Sontupe, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

Old Bridge’s Thomas and Frank Papeo
Old Bridge head coach Matt Donaghue
by Mike Pavlichko

Old Bridge finally wins a close one, in a big spot

They’re not the 1962 Mets, but at some point Old Bridge head coach Matt Donaghue had to wonder if a break was going to go his team’s way.

After all, they had been going the other team’s way for a good part of their 7-17 season, until Wednesday night.

Ten of their 17 losses and come by 3 runs or less; four of them by two runs or one.

That’s when it finally all broke right for the 12th-seeded Knights, who knocked off 5th-seed South Brunswick in the opening round of the NJSIAA baseball state playoffs in Central Jersey Group 4.

Youth was served in this one, which also leaves Donaghue with a bright outlook for the future.

Sophomore Thomas Papeo went 2-for-3 with an RBI, while Justin Herbstman – a fellow soph who’s committed to Virginia Tech – got the win in relief, blanking the Vikings and striking out nine in 4 1/3 innings our of the ‘pen.

Next up for the Knights (8-17) is Princeton, the 13th-seed, which knocked off 4th-seed Edison Wednesday 6-4. That gives Old Bridge an unexpected home game Sunday at 2 pm, a late start due to it being an SAT testing day.

Click below to hear about how it happened, the team’s outlook heading into states, and more with head coach Matt Donaghue, pitcher Justin Herbstman and shortstop Thomas Papeo: